Description

An Ohio infantry soldier's diary recording Sherman's March through Georgia and the Carolinas

Union Soldier's Diary of Private Albert Slater, 105th Ohio
Infantry. 144 page diary, 3.75" x 6", from various places in
Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, with entries from
October 24, 1864 through March 15, 1865. Slater makes daily
entries, daily military activities during Sherman's March through
Georgia and the Carolinas.

Slater's early entries covered life in Sherman's army between the
fall of Atlanta and the general's march across Georgia to the sea,
a time in which many soldiers were involved in foraging expeditions
in the countryside to feed and sustain the large army as well as
tearing up railroads. On November 8, 1864, Slater, in camp in
Kingston, Georgia, noted in his diary that it was "Presidential
Election day." He described the soldiers' receiving their
ballots and voting overwhelmingly for President Lincoln.
"Tickets commenced circulating among the voters. At 10 A.M. All
legal voters were called together at Col. Quarters...nearly all
voted this forenoon. The no. of votes cast from the Rgt. was
280...Lincoln 279. McClellan 1 Total 280." On November 16 he
recorded the commencement of the March to the Sea: "Our (14)
Corps left Atlanta for their Great Expedition to Sunny South this
morning. Our Div. (3) left at 9 A.M. taking the Augusta R.R."
The evening before Slater noted his visit to Atlanta, where he
found "nearly all large buildings in center of city were a mass
of flames. It was the largest fire I ever saw, the bursting of
shell, & red glare of fire...was a scene I shall not
forget."

As the march proceeded, Slater recorded the foraging expeditions
and the destruction of railroad beds. While Sherman's army was
despised by the local white residents, they were welcomed by local
blacks, many of whom were former slaves. While marching through a
small Georgia town, Slater recorded the response of local black
residents: "about 40 of the Negros came out & went to
dancing as the Brigade Band played for I presume this was the first
brass band they ever heard." On November 23, Slater regiment
passed through Milledgeville, Georgia, which he thought was a
"very pretty city." As he went through the city he noted
that the "Depot was in flames & also R.R." Much of the
foraging and destruction of railroads to this point met little
resistance from Confederate forces. Slater recorded one instance of
armed resistance which occurred on November 29 near the town of
Millen, Georgia, when "Kilpatrick's cavalry...cut the R.R.
towards Milen [sic] which they successful; but they found
'Wheelers Cavalry' in large force so strong they were compelled to
fall back & fortify." On December 1, Slater noted more
resistance: "we went some 2 miles when we halted the cavalry was
formed in lines of battle on the right and left...the enemy charged
on our cavalry but were repulsed. The skirmishing lasted but a
short time when the enemy fell back & our column moved on
again." On December 4, near the town of Waynesboro, Slater
wrote that the cavalry attacked Wheeler's cavalry and he reported
on the positive result: "it is reported captured 2 pieces of
artillery & some 4 or 500 prisoners."

As Slater's regiment marched closer to Savannah on the Georgia
coast, the foraging continued. On December 21, Slater's entry noted
that "about noon news came that Savannah was taken. We soon had
orders to be ready to move for our Corps was going into
Savannah...some of our boys have been in town, the town was
evacuated by the enemy last night. The 20th Corps entering the town
this morning. There is said to be left 40,000 inhabitants in the
city." Slater and his unit entered Savannah on December 27, and
were "received by Gen. Sherman. We marched through the principle
streets, saw Savannah river & South Carolina for the first
time. Savannah is a nice town has many fine buildings."

After capturing Savannah, Slater and his fellow soldiers found
themselves with time on their hands with not much going on. Slater
spend much of this time reading anything he could get his hands on.
Because of picket duty on the January 12, 1865 Slater missed a
review by General Sherman in Savannah, which was attended by
"several distinguished men...among them were Maj. Gen. Halleck,
Chief Quartermaster Maj. Gen. Meigs, Admiral Dhalgrun
[sic], Secretary E. M. Stanton & daughter, &
Ex-secretary Chase & many others." Two days later, Slater
recorded that "towards evening Regiment was called into line to
hear orders read. The order was from Gen. Sherman giving an account
of the great successes of the army during the past year from it
start from Chattanooga to Atlanta thence to Savannah. In reply the
Adjutant ordered 3 cheers in reply."

On January 20, 1865, Slater wrote in his diary that his regiment
was moving out as part of Sherman's campaign through the Carolinas.
Through January and February he recorded days of marching,
foraging, picket duty, and tearing up railroads in South Carolina
with no resistance from Confederate forces. On March 4 Slater's
entry mentioned that his regiment "crossed the North Carolina
line at noon." The march finally encountered light resistance
outside of the town of Fayetteville, North Carolina, on March 11.
On March 15, 1865 on the last page of the dairy, Slater made his
last entry: "I am now finishing this daily journal to send home.
It gives something of an account of a soldiers life during hard
marching etc. through enemys country."

Accompanying the diary are photocopies of biographical documents
relating to Slater and to his regiment.

Condition: The diary is bound in black leather over boards
with a folding flap. The upper spine is chipped with minor loss.
The flap has minor loss at the top and bottom and along the spine.
Internally, the diary is in good condition.

More Information:

Albert A. Slater (1840-1908) was born in Essex, Vermont and moved to Ohio sometime before the Civil War, where he pursued farming. He enrolled in the U.S. military service on August 13, 1862 in Orwell, Ohio, and mustered in on August 21, 1862 in Cleveland, Ohio, as a private in Company K, 105th Ohio Infantry for a term of three years. He was captured in McMinnville, Tennessee, by Confederate forces under the command of General John Morgan at some point between December 27, 1862 and January 27, 1863. He was paroled sometime during this period. Slater later became ill on May 19, 1863 and was sent to a convalescent camp in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He returned to his unit on June 22, 1864. Slater mustered out of the service on June 3, 1865. After the war, Slater moved back to Vermont, where worked as a carpenter and a joiner and married Elizabeth Lovina on December 30, 1875; together they had one daughter, Florence, who was born on January 3, 1877.

The 105th Ohio Infantry was organized at Cleveland, Ohio, and mustered in for three years on August 20, 1862, under the command of Colonel Albert S. Hall. The regiment was recruited in northeastern Ohio counties. The regiment was attached to 33rd Brigade, 10th Division, Army of the Ohio, to September 1862; 33rd Brigade, 10th Division, II Corps, Army of the Ohio, to November 1862; 1st Brigade, 5th Division, Center, XIV Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to January 1863; 1st Brigade, 5th Division, XIV Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to June 1863; 2nd Brigade, 4th Division, XIV Corps, to October 1863; 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, XIV Corps, to July 1865. The 105th Ohio Infantry participated in a number of battles, including Perryville, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Missionary Ridge, Resaca, Kennesaw Mountain, Siege of Atlanta, and Sherman's March to the Sea. The 105th Ohio Infantry mustered out of service at Washington, D.C. on June 3, 1865.

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